In December of 2013, I found myself at a local Lululemon store looking for who knows what to be honest, probably some piece of black workout clothing, when a familiar face greeted me and said hello. We exchanged the usual "How are you?" and "Oh I'm great" phrases that usually accompany a quick catch up. However, this was not your usual catching up. Before any moment of awkward silence after exchanging said hellos, I hear, "Have you been to November Project yet?" Now, if you live in any major city, the boutique gym or "hip" workout group trend seems too daunting to even keep up with. For me, it was never something I ever bothered with. I don't know what it was about her question that made me stop or reply, "No, what is that?" but, I'd be damned if I said it wasn't one of the best questions I ever asked someone. Now, this conversation took place just days before New Years and it wasn't until January 7th that I finally decided to attend. I along with my colleague at the time, decided to meet up and see what this was all about. So for the first time, I woke up at 5:45am got dressed (in all black of course) and headed out the door. Not knowing what life was like in DC at that hour or what to expect, I thought to myself, traffic will be fine. But of course, this is Washington DC, so it wasn't. With only mere minutes to spare, I find parking around the Lincoln Memorial and race my way to the steps. Again, I had no idea what to expect or really what I was getting into. Once I came around the corner, I could only see silhouettes of what appeared to be people. I walked up and hear, 'Yo! What the fuck is up! Good Morning." That greeting came from none other than Danny Metcalf - one of the leaders of November Project DC, immediately followed by a huge hug. He turned around, took me with him, and said, "This is Carl, it's his first time." Collectively the rest of the group said, "Good Morning Carl." Right after, another guy approached me, and essentially stole another strong hug while saying "So happy to you have you here!" That happened to be the other leader, Steve Christensen. It may seem kind of minute to mention all of this, but it was really what made me fall in love with November Project. At that specific date and time, I was nobody to these people, they knew nothing about me, not where I came from, my mile pace, or what I did for living. They were just happy to see me, happy to welcome another member to the family. In my head, I could have went that day and never shown up again and they probably wouldn't have noticed. I was wrong. A week later, I showed up and they remembered me. They remembered my name. I was somebody to these people. In fact, before my second NP workout, which happened to be a Friday, I stepped maybe 15 feet outside and slipped and broke my cell phone. A week before that I'd have walked right back inside and given up. But I didn't. I got up, slipped my phone right back into my pocket and pressed on to Union Station. What was different? Why did I feel like if I didn't go, I would be missing something? I quickly realized that I was a part of something bigger than I realized at first. After my first three workouts with NP, I was hooked. I couldn't wait to go again. I had never been so motivated to wake up and get my day started. It was all I wanted to talk about. I couldn't wait to take to Instagram and Twitter and share with everyone where I had just been, what I had just accomplished. It wasn't just a workout. It was something unique. It was something I would later come to recognize. It was something I needed. At that point in my life, I had just left a pretty cozy government contracting gig and was living comfortably as a non-married guy in DC. But I let that go and joined a startup company and left the nice pay checks behind as well. With the new job and new income came new choices to make - one of which was the posh gym membership. I'm talking steam bath and sauna posh. Of course, I could have just gotten a few dumbbells and went running on my own but quite honestly, that probably wasn't going to happen. November Project gave me more than any gym has ever given me. We all know the feeling of being in a gym and not quite knowing if saying hello to the guy next to us is gonna get us laughed at or working next to the opposite sex is gonna come off like I was working up the courage to make a lame joke and make conversation. That feeling has never been there with November Project. The guys all want to be friends and the girls all want to say hello and are just as excited to hug you every single time you see them. There was no pressure to be somebody else or worry about who I was. As funny as it may sound, no one really cares who you are at November Project. In Washington DC, a city where it seems like what you do for a living matters more than anything, this was a place where three days a week, I could show up, see familiar faces and exchange hellos as if we hadn't seen each other in months. Throughout this past year, I have been all over the city and seen sights I probably would've never even bothered going to. No need for me to really go in to that because Katie Courtin summed it up perfectly. The people you meet at November Project become more than just workout buddies or people you barely get to know. They become family. The kind of family who wanna know who the girl all over your Instagram is. Let me explain. During the spring of last year I began a new relationship with a girl, who, for lack of better words, along with November Project was one of the best things to happen to me last year. Week after week I'd hear, "Carl, when do we get to meet this girl?" Almost like a mother or father or an overprotective sibling would. Finally with enough persistence in my recruitment, I convinced her to go. Right away, just like me on that cold January day, they all embraced her just like they had done me. No one cared who she was, or what she did for a living. They were just happy to see her. The girls loved her and they guys told her she was too pretty for me. Outside of those 3 days a week, 2014 was quite honestly one of the toughest years of my young adult life. Like I mentioned, this was the year I left the only real job I had ever known and entered a world unfamiliar to me. A year of long hours, 6-7 days a week at work, waking up on non NP days to work before going to work, only to come home from work and get right back on my laptop to do more work, took its toll on me. It took a toll on not only my relationship but my body as well. Of course, I could save face and say that I ate healthy 3 times a day and got 8 hours of sleep each night but that just wasn't the case. Sometimes, I would have barely 20 minutes to eat lunch, which most of the time wasn't even at lunch time. By the time I got home from work or met up with my girlfriend it was too late for dinner but you had to eat something right? This is not me on my soapbox trying to explain why my year was tougher than yours or make an excuse for myself. It is simply my way of providing context to why November Project meant so much to me. For one hour a day, 3 times a week, work didn't matter. I wasn't worried about how many emails I had or what my boss was going to complain about next. I was in the company of people who essentially had become more than friends, more than workout buddies. These were the people who I could confide in. Who I could laugh in front of, who I could lean on when the world seemed too heavy. No judgement, no pressure to impress. Just 300+ friends, ready to greet me every time. This is something that not only no gym has ever given me, but that six years in the military never gave me. Now my story for why I joined or why I keep coming back isn't any better than the next person. It is simply a testament and a thank you to the guys in Boston, Brogan and Bojan, for starting this movement - and even more so to the 500+ who are the November Project DCA family. I without hesitation can say that without each and every one of you, I would have no idea where I'd be right now but I know for certain that I wouldn't even be close to the person I am today. I cannot say thank you enough for bringing all the hugs, smiles and weirdness to my life. Sure, I wake up for the workouts but more so, I just show up, to see you. Here's to another amazing year of growing together.
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